Documentation that the patient received reliever medication(s) for asthma exacerbation during this hospitalization. Inpatient hospitalization includes the time from arrival to the emergency department (ED) or observation area until discharge from the inpatient setting.

Relievers are medications that relax the bands of muscle surrounding the airways and are used to quickly alleviate bronchoconstriction and prevent exercise-induced bronchospasm.

Suggested Data Collection Question:

Did the patient receive a reliever medication(s) during this hospitalization?

Format:

Length:

1

Type:

Alphanumeric

Occurs:

1

Allowable Values:

Y (Yes) The patient received a reliever medication(s) during this hospitalization.

N (No) The patient did not receive a reliever medication(s) during this hospitalization or unable to determine from the medical record documentation.

Notes for Abstraction:

For the purposes of the CAC measures, inpatient hospitalization includes the time of arrival to the emergency department (ED) or observation area until discharge from the inpatient setting.

For reliever medication(s) administered in the Emergency Department /observation area which was given prior to the inpatient admission, select “Yes.”

“Reliever Not Specified (NOS)” can be used to answer “Yes” to this question in the following situations:

For new relievers that are not yet listed in Table 6.2

When there is documentation that a reliever was administered but unable to identify the name. It must be apparent that the medication is a reliever. Example: -On 2-12-08, the ED record contains the documentation, “Reliever started name illegible, 2.5 ml, PO, 0200-JM”. In the reliever grid, “Reliever NOS” would be entered for the name, PO for the route, 0200 for the time and 2-12-08 for the date. (If “Reliever started” had not been documented in this example, the medication could not be abstracted as Relievers Administered.

Suggested Data Sources:

Emergency department record

Nursing notes

Nursing flow sheet

Medication administration record (MAR)

Additional Notes:

Guidelines for Abstraction:

Inclusion

Exclusion

Refer to Appendix C, Table 6.2 for a comprehensive list of Reliever Medications.